There were three sections held at the Hampshire 2023 Chess Congress. The Minor is the bottom section, with a number of local club players, joined by several players from outside the area, battling for the title. The 1st article on the Open and the 2nd on the Major are both available. Above is Freddie Christou-Moore winner of the Minor with HCA’s Vice President Peter Eales.
Contents
HCA Minor
The Hampshire Congress had three sections, an Open which included the Hampshire Individual Championship, the Major and the Minor. This article covers the Minor tournament which was for players rated under 1600. In total there were 33 entrants with most local clubs represented. In addition, it was great to see a number of players from the Isle of Wight make the trip as well as from London and Dorset. The Lysses Hotel is a popular venue, with Castle Chess also holding tournaments at the venue. Many entrants are returning players, which is always a good sign that they enjoy the tournament.
There were some changes this year, with Congress Organiser being replaced with myself and Peter Eales but we were fortunate that the long standing arbiter Kevin Thurlow agreed to one run the congress one more time, before retiring. We hope he will be at the Congress next year, but as a player!
We also took advantage of the ECF LMS system, to allow people to follow the results as the round were played, and this was also used to pass the results to the ECF for rating. This system is free to use for ECF tournaments, leagues and clubs and I highly recommend it. We had a few small hiccups with mis keyed results, but these were quickly rectified.
For a list of the winners of the Hampshire Individual Championship and links to any articles I have written the table on the Hampshire Individual Championship is the best place to look. In addition, the table on the Hampshire Tournaments will detail these and any other tournament articles I have completed. Both of these are available from the menu at the top of the site as well.
Round 1
With 33 entries, the Minor had less entries than 2022 (38) but as per the Major this was not an issue. The three sections were more evenly spread and the Congress was at full capacity.
Minor tournaments are always slightly different to the Open and Major’s with a number of improving juniors joining regular club / social players. This may be less of an issue now than the times with annual ratings when a junior could be two to three hundred points under rated. But looking at a number of the players in the competition 10 months later (it took me a while to get around to this) there are several examples of improving players!
Don’t worry, most of these will be playing in the the Major or Open section this year!
| Player | Sept 2023 | Sept 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philip Tarrant-Edwards | 1512 | 1763 | 251 |
| Alikhan Menseitov | 1453 (Nov) | 1650 | 197 |
| Itmam Ekram | 1389 (Nov) | 1562 | 173 |
| William Purle | 1499 (Nov) | 1627 | 128 |
| Edward Burton | 1527 | 1607 | 80 |
| Freddie Christou-Moore | 1590 | 1670 | 80 |
| Rosamund Hale | 1430 | 1502 | 72 |
There were quite a few first round byes, but there was probably only the one upset, with Graham Payne beating Oliver Ward. The ratings below as at November 2023, but the eligibility position was September 2023. This ensures we don’t have to ask early entrants to move sections just before the Congress, but if you enter in June and your rating is over the rating band in September, we would ask you to move section.
| Player | Grade | Result | Player | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver Williamson | 1597 | 1 | Rosamund Hale | 1445 | 0 |
| Nicholas Morris | 1567 | ½ | Philip Tarrant-Edwards | 1591 | ½ |
| Michael Eason | 1584 | 1 | John E Davis | 1436 | 0 |
| David J Archer | 1428 | 0 | Kenneth Jardine | 1565 | 1 |
| Oliver J Ward | 1550 | 0 | Graham PW Payne | 1412 | 1 |
| Karen Charles | 0 | Nicholas Deacon | 1529 | 1 | |
| Edward Burton | 1527 | 1 | Harshal Kulkarni | 1401 | 0 |
| James Leare | 1353 | 0 | Paul S Collis | 1523 | 1 |
| Christopher Budden | 1512 | 1 | James Best | 1306 | 0 |
| Aiden Graham | 1259 | 0 | William Purle | 1499 | 1 |
| Alikhan Menseitov | 1491 | 1 | David Purle | 1256 | 0 |
| Itmam Ekram | 1 | David Lightfoot | 1470 | 0 | |
| Steven R Charles | 1464 | ½ | Ekramul Basher | ½ | |
| Freddie Christou-Moore | 1590 | ½ | Half Point Bye | ||
| Sofia Syed | 1519 | ½ | Half Point Bye | ||
| Kian King | 1508 | ½ | Half Point Bye | ||
| Ben Hermanns | 1439 | ½ | Half Point Bye | ||
| Jacob Carr | 1432 | ½ | Half Point Bye | ||
| Lucas Summers | 1164 | ½ | Half Point Bye | ||
| Oscar Jackman | 1719 | 1 | Full Point Bye |
Round 2
William Purle (one of the most improved players in rating since the Congress), Michael Eason, Edward Burton, Nicholas Deacon (whose Brother was playing in the Open) and Paul Collis retained their 100% record. A number of players were just half a point behind in the chasing pack.
| Player | Grade | Result | Player | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Purle | 1499 | 1 | Oliver Williamson | 1597 | 0 |
| Graham PW Payne | 1412 | 0 | Michael Eason | 1584 | 1 |
| Kenneth Jardine | 1565 | ½ | Christopher Budden | 1512 | ½ |
| Nicholas Deacon | 1529 | 1 | Alikhan Menseitov | 1491 | 0 |
| Oscar Jackman | 1719 | 0 | Edward Burton | 1527 | 1 |
| Paul S Collis | 1523 | 1 | Itmam Ekram | 0 | |
| Philip Tarrant-Edwards | 1591 | 0 | Ben Hermanns | 1439 | 1 |
| Ekramul Basher | 0 | Freddie Christou-Moore | 1590 | 1 | |
| Sofia Syed | 1519 | 1 | Nicholas Morris | 1567 | 0 |
| Jacob Carr | 1432 | 1 | Kian King | 1508 | 0 |
| Lucas Summers | 1164 | 0 | Steven R Charles | 1464 | 1 |
| James Best | 1306 | 0 | Oliver J Ward | 1550 | 1 |
| David Lightfoot | 1470 | 1 | Karen Charles | 0 | |
| Rosamund Hale | 1445 | 1 | James Leare | 1353 | 0 |
| John E Davis | 1436 | 1 | Aiden Graham | 1259 | 0 |
| David Purle | 1256 | 1 | David J Archer | 1428 | 0 |
| Harshal Kulkarni | 1401 | 1 | Full Point Bye |
Round 3
With five players on maximum points, four were paired together, whilst Paul Collis met the up floated Freddie Christou-Moore. This was a tough pairing (again see the most improved players) and Freddie came out on top. The two players with the White pieces came out on top in the other top board matches, which meant two players were on maximum points and four were a half point behind.
| Player | Grade | Result | Player | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Eason | 1584 | 1 | William Purle | 1499 | 0 |
| Edward Burton | 1527 | 1 | Nicholas Deacon | 1529 | 0 |
| Freddie Christou-Moore | 1590 | 1 | Paul Saul S Collis | 1523 | 0 |
| Steven R Charles | 1464 | 0 | Kenneth Jardine | 1565 | 1 |
| Ben Hermanns | 1439 | 1 | Sofia Syed | 1519 | 0 |
| Christopher Budden | 1512 | 1 | Jacob Carr | 1432 | 0 |
| Oliver Williamson | 1597 | ½ | John Eohn E Davis | 1436 | ½ |
| Oliver J Ward | 1550 | 0 | David Purle | 1256 | 1 |
| Alikhan Menseitov | 1491 | 1 | Oscar Jackman | 1719 | 0 |
| Harshal Kulkarni | 1401 | 1 | David Lightfoot | 1470 | 0 |
| Itmam Ekram | ½ | Rosamund Hale | 1445 | ½ | |
| Kian King | 1508 | 1 | Graham PWraham PW Payne | 1412 | 0 |
| Ekramul Basher | ½ | Philip Tarrant-Edwards | 1591 | ½ | |
| Nicholas Morris | 1567 | 1 | Lucas Summers | 1164 | 0 |
| David J Archer | 1428 | 0 | James Leare | 1353 | 1 |
| Karen Charles | 0 | James Best | 1306 | 1 | |
| Aiden Graham | 1259 | 1 | Full Point Bye | 0 |
Round 4
The Minor only saw three players taking a half point bye, as a number had taken one in the first round, and others decided three games in a day is no problem. The two leaders met and Edward Burton was the winner, going into Sunday with four points from four games. This was a full point ahead of Chris Budden, Michael Eason, Kenneth Jardine, Ben Hermanns, Freddie Christou-Moore and William Purle.
This may seem like a comfortable lead, but although the great start will help in any tie-break, you can still easily be caught with two rounds remaining as your are meeting other players who are playing well.
| Player | Grade | Result | Player | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edward Burton | 1527 | 1 | Michael Eason | 1584 | 0 |
| Freddie Christou-Moore | 1590 | ½ | Christopher Budden | 1512 | ½ |
| Kenneth Jardine | 1565 | ½ | Ben Hermanns | 1439 | ½ |
| Nicholas Deacon | 1529 | ½ | Harshal Kulkarni | 1401 | ½ |
| William Purle | 1499 | 1 | Alikhan Menseitov | 1491 | 0 |
| David Purle | 1256 | ½ | Steven R Charles | 1464 | ½ |
| Jacob Carr | 1432 | 1 | Oliver Williamson | 1597 | 0 |
| Sofia Syed | 1519 | 0 | Itmam Ekram | 1 | |
| Rosamund Hale | 1445 | 1 | Kian King | 1508 | 0 |
| Graham PW Payne | 1412 | 1 | Nicholas Morris | 1567 | 0 |
| Philip Tarrant-Edwards | 1591 | 0 | Aiden Graham | 1259 | 1 |
| James Leare | 1353 | 0 | Oliver J Ward | 1550 | 1 |
| David Lightfoot | 1470 | 0 | Ekramul Basher | 0000 | 1 |
| Oscar Jackman | 1719 | 1 | Lucas Summers | 1164 | 0 |
| Karen Charles | ½ | David J Archer | 1428 | ½ | |
| Paul S Collis | 1523 | ½ | Half Point Bye | ||
| John E Davis | 1436 | ½ | Half Point Bye | ||
| James Best | 1306 | ½ | Half Point Bye |
Round 5
Edward Burton dropped his first points, with a draw against Christopher Budden. Michael Eason and Freddie Christou-Moore both won their games to remain half a point behind going into the last round. Paul Collis, Itman Ekram and Christopher Budden were all a further half point back on 3½ points.
| Player | Grade | Result | Player | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Budden | 1512 | ½ | Edward Burton | 1527 | ½ |
| Michael Eason | 1584 | 1 | Kenneth Jardine | 1565 | 0 |
| Ben Hermanns | 1439 | 0 | Freddie Christou-Moore | 1590 | 1 |
| Paul S Collis | 1523 | 1 | William Purle | 1499 | 0 |
| Harshal Kulkarni | 1401 | ½ | Rosamund Hale | 1445 | ½ |
| Itmam Ekram | 1 | Jacob Carr | 1432 | 0 | |
| John E Davis | 1436 | 1 | David Purle | 1256 | 0 |
| Oliver J Ward | 1550 | 1 | Ekramul Basher | 0 | |
| Alikhan Menseitov | 1491 | ½ | Graham PW Payne | 1412 | ½ |
| Steven R Charles | 1464 | 0 | Oscar Jackman | 1719 | 1 |
| Aiden Graham | 1259 | ½ | Oliver Williamson | 1597 | ½ |
| Kian King | 1508 | 0 | Nicholas Morris | 1567 | 1 |
| James Best | 1306 | 0 | Philip Tarrant-Edwards | 1591 | 1 |
| James Leare | 1353 | 1 | David Lightfoot | 1470 | 0 |
| Lucas Summers | 1164 | 1 | David J Archer | 1428 | 0 |
| Karen Charles | 1 | Half Point Bye | 0 | ||
| Nicholas Deacon | 1529 | ½ | Half Point Bye | ½ | |
| Sofia Syed | 1519 | 0 | Default | 1 |
Round 6
The two players half a point behind Edward Burton had to win their games to have any chance of winning the championship. Paul Collis was held to a draw by Michael Eason but Freddie Christou-Moore beat Edward Burton in their top board clash. This meant that Freddie won the tournament and the Parsons Cup as best Hampshire player with his 5 points. He managed 4 wins, one draw and his first round bye.
Michael Eason and Edward Burton shared 2nd place with 4½ points. The under 1450 prize was won by Ben Hermanns with 4 points.
| Player | Grade | Result | Player | Grade | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freddie Christou-Moore | 1590 | 1 | Edward Burton | 1527 | 0 |
| Paul S Collis | 1523 | ½ | Michael Eason | 1584 | ½ |
| Itmam Ekram | ½ | Christopher Budden | 1512 | ½ | |
| Kenneth Jardine | 1565 | ½ | John E Davis | 1436 | ½ |
| Rosamund Hale | 1445 | ½ | Oliver J Ward | 1550 | ½ |
| Oscar Jackman | 1719 | 0 | Nicholas Deacon | 1529 | 1 |
| William Purle | 1499 | 0 | Ben Hermanns | 1439 | 1 |
| Jacob Carr | 1432 | 1 | Harshal Kulkarni | 1401 | 0 |
| Nicholas Morris | 1567 | 0 | Alikhan Menseitov | 1491 | 1 |
| Graham PW Payne | 1412 | ½ | David Purle | 1256 | ½ |
| Oliver Williamson | 1597 | 1 | Steven R Charles | 1464 | 0 |
| Philip Tarrant-Edwards | 1591 | 1 | James Leare | 1353 | 0 |
| Ekramul Basher | 1 | Kian King | 1508 | 0 | |
| Lucas Summers | 1164 | ½ | Karen Charles | ½ | |
| David Lightfoot | 1470 | 0 | James Best | 1306 | 1 |
| David J Archer | 1428 | 1 | Half Point Bye | 0 | |
| Sofia Syed | 1519 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Aiden Graham | 1259 | 0 | 1 |
Final Table
The final table is below, but additional details are also on the LMS system. The results are also on the ECF rating system.
| No. | Name | Rd 1 | Rd 2 | Rd 3 | Rd 4 | Rd 5 | Rd 6 | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Freddie Christou-Moore | ½ (w ) | 1 (b21) | 1 (w5) | ½ (w6) | 1 (b8) | 1 (w3) | 5 |
| 2 | Michael Eason | 1 (w10) | 1 (b17) | 1 (w19) | 0 (b3) | 1 (w11) | ½ (b5) | 4½ |
| 3 | Edward Burton | 1 (w18) | 1 (b22) | 1 (w4) | 1 (w2) | ½ (b6) | 0 (b1) | 4½ |
| 4 | Nicholas Deacon | 1 (b26) | 1 (w13) | 0 (b3) | ½ (w18) | ½ (w ) | 1 (b22) | 4 |
| 5 | Paul S Collis | 1 (b27) | 1 (w7) | 0 (b1) | ½ (w ) | 1 (w19) | ½ (w2) | 4 |
| 6 | Christopher Budden | 1 (w24) | ½ (b11) | 1 (w14) | ½ (b1) | ½ (w3) | ½ (b7) | 4 |
| 7 | Itmam Ekram | 1 (w33) | 0 (b5) | ½ (w9) | 1 (b31) | 1 (w14) | ½ (w6) | 4 |
| 8 | Ben Hermanns | ½ (w ) | 1 (b16) | 1 (w31) | ½ (b11) | 0 (w1) | 1 (b19) | 4 |
| 9 | Rosamund Hale | 0 (b15) | 1 (w27) | ½ (b7) | 1 (w32) | ½ (b18) | ½ (w12) | 3½ |
| 10 | John E Davis | 0 (b2) | 1 (w25) | ½ (b15) | ½ (w ) | 1 (w20) | ½ (b11) | 3½ |
| 11 | Kenneth Jardine | 1 (b30) | ½ (w6) | 1 (b28) | ½ (w8) | 0 (b2) | ½ (w10) | 3½ |
| 12 | Oliver J Ward | 0 (w17) | 1 (b24) | 0 (w20) | 1 (b27) | 1 (w21) | ½ (b9) | 3½ |
| 13 | Alikhan Menseitov | 1 (w20) | 0 (b4) | 1 (w22) | 0 (b19) | ½ (w17) | 1 (b23) | 3½ |
| 14 | Jacob Carr | ½ (w ) | 1 (w32) | 0 (b6) | 1 (w15) | 0 (b7) | 1 (w18) | 3½ |
| 15 | Oliver Williamson | 1 (w9) | 0 (b19) | ½ (w10) | 0 (b14) | ½ (b25) | 1 (w28) | 3 |
| 16 | Philip Tarrant-Edwards | ½ (b23) | 0 (w8) | ½ (b21) | 0 (w25) | 1 (b24) | 1 (w27) | 3 |
| 17 | Graham PW Payne | 1 (b12) | 0 (w2) | 0 (b32) | 1 (w23) | ½ (b13) | ½ (w20) | 3 |
| 18 | Harshal Kulkarni | 0 (b3) | 1 (w ) | 1 (w33) | ½ (b4) | ½ (w9) | 0 (b14) | 3 |
| 19 | William Purle | 1 (b25) | 1 (w15) | 0 (b2) | 1 (w13) | 0 (b5) | 0 (w8) | 3 |
| 20 | David Purle | 0 (b13) | 1 (w30) | 1 (b12) | ½ (w28) | 0 (b10) | ½ (b17) | 3 |
| 21 | Ekramul Basher | ½ (b28) | 0 (w1) | ½ (w16) | 1 (b33) | 0 (b12) | 1 (w32) | 3 |
| 22 | Oscar Jackman | 1 (w ) | 0 (w3) | 0 (b13) | 1 (w29) | 1 (b28) | 0 (w4) | 3 |
| 23 | Nicholas Morris | ½ (w16) | 0 (b31) | 1 (w29) | 0 (b17) | 1 (b32) | 0 (w13) | 2½ |
| 24 | James Best | 0 (b6) | 0 (w12) | 1 (b26) | ½ (w ) | 0 (w16) | 1 (b33) | 2½ |
| 25 | Aiden Graham | 0 (w19) | 0 (b10) | 1 (w ) | 1 (b16) | ½ (w15) | 0 (w ) | 2½ |
| 26 | Karen Charles | 0 (w4) | 0 (b33) | 0 (w24) | ½ (w30) | 1 (w ) | ½ (b29) | 2 |
| 27 | James Leare | 0 (w5) | 0 (b9) | 1 (b30) | 0 (w12) | 1 (w33) | 0 (b16) | 2 |
| 28 | Steven R Charles | ½ (w21) | 1 (b29) | 0 (w11) | ½ (b20) | 0 (w22) | 0 (b15) | 2 |
| 29 | Lucas Summers | ½ (w ) | 0 (w28) | 0 (b23) | 0 (b22) | 1 (w30) | ½ (w26) | 2 |
| 30 | David J Archer | 0 (w11) | 0 (b20) | 0 (w27) | ½ (b26) | 0 (b29) | 1 (w ) | 1½ |
| 31 | Sofia Syed | ½ (w ) | 1 (w23) | 0 (b8) | 0 (w7) | 0 (w ) | 0 (w ) | 1½ |
| 32 | Kian King | ½ (w ) | 0 (b14) | 1 (w17) | 0 (b9) | 0 (w23) | 0 (b21) | 1½ |
| 33 | David Lightfoot | 0 (b7) | 1 (w26) | 0 (b18) | 0 (w21) | 0 (b27) | 0 (w24) | 1 |
Summary
The Minor was a successful competition with many hard fought games. Edward Burton was unlucky that after his great start he fell just short at the end, but hats off to Freddie Christou-Moore for winning both Sunday games to take the title.
Rosamund Hale scored 3½ points to share the Gillian Moore Cup with Helen Archer-Lock for the highest scoring Hampshire lady in the Congress.
I always think the Minor is the hardest tournament to call, as to who will win. Normally talented juniors do very well and soon move up the ranks, this can be seen from the 2016 Minor where a certain Shreyas Royal won. But it is also where the local club members play year in and year out, and every now and again one will have a great tournament to win.
I would not expect to see players such as the top 3 in this year competition play in many minors going forward, but we hope to see them entering the Hampshire Major or Open to pit their wits against stronger players.
Photographs
All photographs are in the Hampshire Gallery, but I have included a few from the Minor. There was a mix up with the winner of the Parsons Cup which is why this was presented to Edward Burton and not Freddie Christou-Moore. To apologise I did buy the University Team a round when they were at Chandler’s Ford for the Southampton Chess League match the following week.
HCA Vice President Report
The Hampshire Vice President produced a press release on the congress, which is below.
Acknowledgements and sources:
- Peter Eales for HCA Press Release
- Peter Eales and Martin Simons for photographs